Told he's too experienced and over qualified for job

kevin99

A friend lost his job recently and has been applying for temporary contract work and staff jobs over the past few months.

He was interviewed for a job he was ideally qualified for, but a few days later was told he was overqualified and had too much experience for the position.

He then applied for a contract job and was told the same thing.

So, he wonders if he is too old (at 42) for a job these days.

Have other posters come across this situation?

The Lovely Muffin

Forgive my ignorance, but what has this got to do with Fashion & Appearance? :o

Maybe this topic is better suited to the Work & Jobs forum?

I don't mean to be rude or smart, so I apologize if that is how I/this post comes across.

dudara

Purple_Bobbin - Just report the thread. No need to add to the noise.

dudara

Mrs OBumble

kevin99 wrote: »

So, he wonders if he is too old (at 42) for a job these days.

Have other posters come across this situation?

Yes, it's a common scenario.

No, he's not too old, just hasn't been the right person at the right time yet.

Remember, it's easier for employers to blame it on not having the "just right" experience than it is for them to admit that they plain liked someone else better.

So don't put too much stock on what excuses employers give. Just focus on staying positive and being the best applicant you can be.

tenchi-fan

It's possible he's too old and experienced, particularly if his supervisor is much younger or less experienced than he is.

It might be a case of dumbing down his cv just to get the temp role. Once he actually has the job he will be more likely to get a better job. Until then he just has to play by the rules.

6679

I recently started a graduate job where I am the youngest at 23 and two other people who started the same job as me are in their early 30s and 40s. They would both have been considered overqualified and had too much experience.